Travel Day 1: Having left for Russia, I'm not actually in Russia

As I type this I am sitting at the desk of my dad's friends Dieter and Berit in Meinz, Germany. I said I was leaving for Russia today and that isn't a lie, it's just going to take about... 14 more hours before I'm in St. Petersburg. CIEE left an annoying enough arrival window that the only way I could make their deadline without taking approximately 60 flights was to take a one day layover in Germany. More on that in a bit.

One of the perks (for me, anyway) of my dad having to travel a lot for work is that sometimes I get to reap the benefits of his inordinate amount of frequent flier miles. Thusly, my parents being as awesome as they are, this was one of those occasions (given that it was going to be a real chore to get to Russia from Denver in the prescribed window). Long story short, I got to fly international first class. Now many of you may have flown first class before, but allow me to clue you in to the wonder that is INTERNATIONAL first class. I was immediately served champagne upon boarding the plane, and directed to my seat. It wasn't so much a seat, though, as it was a magical pod that makes all of your dreams come true. You know the part in the Mission Impossible movie (the original) where they come around and offer Jim Phelps small video cassettes to enjoy "the cinema of the Ukraine"? Take out the espionage and replace it with "movies that came out this year" and that's what they did. I selected "Taken", starring Liam Neeson, though in my opinion it should have been called Liam-Neeson-fucking-kills-everything-in-France-that-looks-at-him-funny. That's a story for another time though. The best part? My chair fully reclined into a bed. A fucking bed. I told my parents I wouldn't swear as much as usual in this blog, but holy jesus I had a fucking BED. On the AIRPLANE. I was also served all the free wine I could handle and a 3 course meal (salad, chicken in pepper sauce with quiche and mixed veggies, and a hot fudge sunday) as well as breakfast immediately before arrival. I almost wish I had never experienced this because now I am going to be maddeningly disappointed when I don't get it ever again. That's a lie though, I have never felt more like a celebrity in my life.

Anyhow, I eventually had to leave the luxury of United 932 and get on the train to Meinz from Frankfurt airport. If you've never been to this airport, picture the largest shopping mall you've ever been in, then tack on some terminals and a crap-ton of airplanes. And a train station. That's Frankfurt. Using the instructions my father carefully laid out for me, I bought my ticket to Meinz, headed down to the platform and boarded the train. Europe is a beautiful place. So beautiful, in fact, that I didn't actually realize I was on a train headed in the opposite direction of Meinz for about 4 stops. Fortunately, the trains here are easy once you know what the hell you're doing, so I just turned around and made it no problem.

If I could post pictures I would, but I forgot my camera when Berit and Dieter took me to a restaurant and a winebar in the center of Meinz, because it, like the rest of Europe, is picturesque beyond compare. I was treated to some good Schnitzel, some dark German beer, and a dry Riesling that in my opinion puts all other Rieslings to a crying shame, rectifiable only by running home to the arms of their Riesling mothers. It is now almost midnight and I need to be awake in four hours to make my flight that actually takes me to Russia, so пока и добрый вечер and I shall have more updates soon.